The Most Popular Celebrities and Influencers in America

Denzel Washington is the most popular celebrity in America, with a net favorability of +55 among U.S. adults, according to a Morning Consult survey of 6,283 adults conducted Sept. 17 to 22, 2026. Adam Sandler's is the most valuable celebrity endorsement: 42% of adults would be more likely to use a brand he backed and 10% less likely, a net purchase lift of +32. The most-liked creator, Sean Evans (+16), ranks behind 46 traditional celebrities, and MrBeast is the most-named favorite influencer. The full ranking of all 90 names, with the endorsement value of each, is below. The report behind it, The State of Influencer & Celebrity Marketing, is free to download in full. 

90 celebrities and influencers, ranked by net favorability

Net favorability is the share of U.S. adults with a favorable view of the person minus the share with an unfavorable view. Net purchase lift is the share who would be more likely to use a brand the person endorses minus the share who would be less likely. Each name was rated by a randomized third of respondents, about 2,100 adults. Sorted by favorability; ties keep the report's order.

Reuse this table with attribution: Morning Consult, The State of Influencer & Celebrity Marketing, survey of 6,283 U.S. adults, Sept. 17–22, 2026

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How every name scores with Gen Z, millennials, men and women; which of 12 names fits which of 10 advertising categories; and who turns goodwill into purchase intent. Download the report →

Who is the most popular celebrity in America?

Denzel Washington, with a net favorability of +55 among U.S. adults. Samuel L. Jackson (+51), Adam Sandler (+50), Tom Hanks (+49) and Dwayne Johnson (+47) complete the top five. No creator, streamer or podcaster appears until Sean Evans at No. 47.

The top of the list belongs to actors, athletes and musicians with long mainstream careers. Jennifer Aniston and Michael Jordan tie at +45, Kelly Clarkson follows at +44, and Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon round out the top 10. Celebrities who have become successful influencers in their own right still outrank everyone who came up as an influencer.

Top 10 by net favorability rating

U.S. adults, Sept. 2026

Most-named favorite celebrity, unprompted

Mentions among 4,871 adults who named one

Asked to name a favorite celebrity with no list to choose from, 4,871 adults gave 1,428 different answers, and the three most-named figures drew only about 100 mentions each. The survey ran three weeks after Dolly Parton's death, which likely put her top of mind. The gap between the two lists is the useful part: Taylor Swift is a top-three unprompted favorite but sits 34th on net favorability, a reminder that intensity among fans and breadth across the public are different assets.

Which celebrities are the most persuasive endorsers?

Adam Sandler, on stated purchase intent. 42% of U.S. adults say they would be more likely to use a brand he endorsed and 10% say less likely, a net purchase lift of +32, the highest of 90 names. Denzel Washington (+31), Jennifer Aniston and Michael Jordan (+27 each) and Tom Hanks (+26) follow. Among Gen Z, Rihanna, Sandler and Zendaya tie at about +40.

Favorability and endorsement value mostly move together, but not at the same rate. Martha Stewart converts 74% of her net favorability into net purchase lift, the best rate of any name liked at +25 or better, followed by Jennifer Garner (67%) and Rihanna (65%). All three have brands or long-running campaigns of their own. George Clooney, Lady Gaga, Leonardo DiCaprio and Steve Harvey are liked about as much as the best converters but turn less than half of that goodwill into lift. Prestige without a shopping association is pleasant to see and easy to ignore.

Who converts goodwill into intent

Net purchase lift as a share of net favorability, names at +25 favorability or better

IN THE FULL REPORT
The eight best and eight weakest converters, with favorability and lift for each, plus purchase lift by generation and gender for all 90 names. Get the report →

Who are the most popular influencers in America?

Sean Evans is the most favorably viewed creator among U.S. adults, at +16, followed by Druski (+14), MrBeast (+11), Addison Rae, Zach King (+10 each) and IShowSpeed (+9). Asked to name a favorite influencer with no prompt, adults name MrBeast three times as often as anyone else.

Influencer marketing is a mass channel: 70% of adults follow at least one influencer or creator, and 93% of Gen Z do. But attention is spread thin. 44% of Gen Z follow 50 or more creators, so no single creator is more than a sliver of any feed, and favorability for even the biggest names stays modest next to mainstream celebrities. The unprompted list is steep at the top and scattered below it: MrBeast was named 316 times, Kai Cenat 107 and Joe Rogan 78, and 1,482 of the 1,787 other names were given exactly once.

Most-liked creators and streamers

Net favorability, U.S. adults, of the 18 tested

Most-named favorite influencer, unprompted

Mentions among 3,202 adults who named one

Men and women read the creator economy differently. 33% of men name one of the 10 most-cited creators as their favorite; only 15% of women do, because women's answers spread across a far longer list. Among answers naming one of the 80 most-cited creators, 94% of men named a man. 57% of women did too.

IN THE FULL REPORT
Gen Z and millennial top-10 lists for creators and celebrities, the gaming skew among Gen Z answers, and what kind of creator each group names. Get the report →

Which celebrities does Gen Z like most?

Zendaya leads with Gen Z at +56 net favorability, followed by Snoop Dogg (+53) and Adam Sandler (+50). Relative to all adults, Gen Z rates Justin Bieber, Zendaya, Druski and Billie Eilish highest, and Jennifer Garner, Reese Witherspoon and Matthew McConaughey lowest.

Biggest shifts from all adults to Gen Z

Net favorability, the four names Gen Z rates highest relative to all adults and the four it rates lowest

Where men and women split

Tom Brady and Sydney Sweeney divide men and women most; Kelly Clarkson and Adele are the names women rate highest relative to men. The gaps run through sports and a few polarizing names. Tom Brady is +39 with men and +5 with women; Sydney Sweeney is +27 and +4; Patrick Mahomes +29 and +9; Cristiano Ronaldo +28 and +10. In the other direction, Kelly Clarkson is +50 with women and +38 with men, and Adele +43 and +32. For a brand with a gendered audience, the all-adult number can hide a 30-point swing.

IN THE FULL REPORT
Net favorability and purchase lift by generation and gender for every one of the 90 names, including the generations the ranking above leaves out. Get the report →

Which celebrity spokesperson fits each advertising category?

Fit follows existing associations more than popularity. Asked which of 12 names would be a fitting spokesperson, adults gave clear answers in only a few categories: Rihanna for beauty (45%) and fashion (40%), LeBron James for sports betting (39%) and Matthew McConaughey for cars (33%). Most categories had no consensus pick.

The leading pick in each category

Share of adults naming the person a fitting spokesperson, among 12 names tested

McConaughey leads cars after a decade of Lincoln ads and edges the field on beer; Peyton Manning leads insurance; LeBron James leads soft drinks and sports betting. A name's general favorability says little about which category it can carry. Among Gen Z, Zendaya overtakes Rihanna on beauty (51% vs. 48%) and LeBron James reaches 48% on sports betting.

IN THE FULL REPORT
The full 12-name by 10-category fit matrix, including how many adults chose none of the names in each category and how Gen Z's picks differ. Get the report →

Celebrity endorsement statistics: six key numbers from the ranking

Do celebrity endorsements still work?

Yes, and more so with younger consumers. 44% of U.S. adults bought a product in the past year because a well-known influencer endorsed it, and 41% because of a celebrity endorsement on social media. Among Gen Z the figures are 67% and 65%. Authenticity converts: an endorser who actually uses the product (62%), seems honest (61%) or knows the category (60%) makes six in 10 adults more likely to buy; fame alone moves four in 10 (40%).

Skepticism and persuasion coexist. 64% of adults say endorsers only say good things because they are paid, yet 56% of Gen Z and millennials say an endorsement makes them more willing to try a new brand. People discount the pitch and act on it anyway. Casting also has a downside: 51% of Gen Z think worse of a brand when someone they dislike endorses it.

For Gen Z, creator posts (33%) now rival online search (37%) as a main way to discover new products, ahead of TV and streaming ads. Among all adults, search leads at 42% and creator posts sit at 22%. Appetite for endorsements is highest in food and snacks (48%), restaurants (48%) and clothing (46%), and lowest in financial services (25%), sports betting (23%) and insurance (21%).

IN THE FULL REPORT
Discovery channels, purchase behavior, persuasion traits and category appetite by generation and gender, with the trend since 2019. Get the report →

Influencer vs. celebrity endorsements: which converts more buyers?

They convert about equally. 44% of adults bought because of a well-known influencer, 44% because of a smaller influencer, 41% because of a celebrity on social media and 41% because of a celebrity in an ad. Choose between them on reach and fit, not credibility.

On trust, influencers edge celebrities in every generation: 49% of adults trust recommendations from influencers they follow, against 44% for favorite celebrities and athletes. Among Gen Z and millennials, trust in creators has risen 13 points since 2019 and trust in celebrities 18, and the gap between a friend's recommendation and a creator's has narrowed from 33 points to 15. Friends and family (76%) and product reviews (67%) still rank higher than either.

Because smaller creators convert as often as famous ones, an influencer marketing budget spread across several mid-size creators buys the same conversion with reach into more niches. What celebrities offer instead is breadth: no one who came up as an influencer has reached the favorability of a mainstream star, which is why the top of the ranking looks the way it does.

How many consumers would follow an AI influencer?

Three in 10, and falling. 30% of U.S. adults say they are at least somewhat likely to follow an AI-generated influencer, down from 36% in August 2025. Millennials fell from 54% to 43%; Gen Z held at 42%. At the same time, 39% of adults trust AI chat recommendations when deciding what to buy, within five points of favorite celebrities.

Familiarity is not translating into enthusiasm for synthetic personalities, but AI assistants are becoming a recommendation channel of their own: 9% of adults, and 12% of Gen Z and millennials, already name an AI assistant as a main way they discover products. Women are cooler than men on all of it. 23% of women would follow an AI influencer, against 37% of men, and 34% trust AI chat recommendations, against 45%.

Which brands have the most memorable celebrity partnerships?

Nike, by a wide margin. Asked to name a brand that worked with a celebrity or influencer in a way they liked, 24% of the 3,211 adults who answered said Nike, 11 times the mentions of the next brand, Pepsi. Coca-Cola, Mint Mobile and adidas follow.

Most of the top mentions are incumbents with decades of sponsorship behind them. Mint Mobile and DraftKings are the exceptions, and a playbook for how newer brands can stick in consumers' minds.

Get The State of Influencer & Celebrity Marketing

The ranking on this page is one of 14 sections. The full report puts every number in context for a celebrity endorsement, sponsorship or influencer marketing budget decision.

• Favorability and purchase lift by generation and gender for all 90 names, including the cuts this page leaves out
• Spokesperson fit across 10 advertising categories for 12 names, from cars and insurance to beauty and sports betting
• Who converts goodwill into purchase intent and who doesn't, with the numbers behind each
• Unprompted favorites for celebrities, influencers and brand partnerships, by generation and gender
• The state of endorsements discovery, conversion, trust, persuasion, category appetite and AI influencers, with trends since 2019
• Method and question list so you can brief a team or commission a custom cut

Get the report →

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DATA

Frequently asked

How is net favorability calculated?

Net favorability is the share of U.S. adults with a very or somewhat favorable view of a person minus the share with a somewhat or very unfavorable view. Respondents who did not know the person are included in the base, so lesser-known names score closer to zero. Nets are computed from unrounded data.

What does net purchase lift measure?

Net purchase lift is the share of adults who say they would be much or somewhat more likely to use a brand the person endorses, minus the share who say they would be less likely. It is a stated-intent measure of endorsement value, not a sales result. Adam Sandler has the highest lift at +32.

Who was surveyed, and when?

Morning Consult surveyed 6,283 U.S. adults from Sept. 17 to 22, 2026. Each of the 90 names was shown to a randomized third of respondents, about 2,100 adults. Data are weighted to approximate U.S. adults; the margin of error is plus or minus 1 percentage point for the full sample and wider for subgroups.

How were the 90 names chosen?

The list spans actors, musicians, athletes, comedians, creators and streamers, podcast and media hosts, and reality, lifestyle and business figures who were prominent in American culture when the survey was fielded in September 2026. Type groupings are analyst judgment. Separate open-ended questions let respondents name any favorite celebrity or influencer; 1,428 different celebrities and more than 1,700 creators were named.

Is the full report free?

Yes. The full report, The State of Influencer & Celebrity Marketing, is free to download with a work email. It adds Gen Z, millennial and gender cuts for every name, the spokesperson-fit matrix across 10 advertising categories, the analysis of who converts goodwill into purchase intent, and the complete findings on discovery, trust, persuasion and AI influencers.

METHODOLOGY

How the ranking was built

Survey. Conducted Sept. 17 to 22, 2026, among 6,283 U.S. adults, with data weighted to approximate a target sample of U.S. adults. Margin of error ±1 percentage point for the full sample; subgroups carry wider margins. Gen Z (born 1997 to 2012, adults only) n=1,027; millennials (1981 to 1996) n=2,015; Gen X (1965 to 1980) n=1,589; baby boomers (1946 to 1964) n=1,500.

The 90 names. Each celebrity or creator was shown to a randomized third of respondents, about 2,100 adults (330 to 350 Gen Z). Favorability: very or somewhat favorable minus somewhat or very unfavorable. Purchase lift: much or somewhat more likely minus somewhat or much less likely to use a brand the person endorses. Type groupings are analyst judgment. Nets are computed from unrounded data.

Open-ended questions. Favorite celebrity, favorite influencer or online creator, and a brand whose celebrity or influencer partnership the respondent liked. Answers were cleaned to one name per entity; ambiguous first names were left unresolved. Counts are unweighted respondent mentions. "None," no recall and off-topic answers are excluded from usable bases: 4,871 celebrity, 3,202 influencer and 3,211 brand answers.

Trend comparisons. Trust: Morning Consult surveys of Gen Z and millennials in September 2019 (ages 13 to 38, n=2,200) and 2024; the 2019 universe included teens, so the comparison is directional. AI influencers: Morning Consult poll 2507144, Aug. 4 to 9, 2025, among 2,253 U.S. adults.

Custom cuts, including income and region, are available on request from Morning Consult Research Intelligence.